UNIT 4: SPAIN´S POPULATION AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
INDEX
1. INTRODUCTION 2. CHARACTERISTICS OF SPAIN'S POPULATION 3. DISTRIBUTION OF SPAINŚ POPULATION
INTRODUCTION: Spain has more than 46 millions inhabitants. It is the fifth most populous country in the European Union. The distribution of the population in Spain is very uneven. Half of the population lives in only seven provinces. All of these provinces are on the coast, except Madrid. Spain´s population is mainly urban. Most people live in towns or cities. The number of inhabitants in Spain is increasing every year. A positive birth rate and an increase in life expectancy and immigration are the causes of this growth. Male’s life expectancy has an average of 78 years and female has 84 years. -
Which factors cause a population to increase?
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Why is there a low birth rate in Spain?
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Why has Spain´s population started to increase again recently?
1. Characteristics of Spain´s population. Birth rate: numbers of people born. Mortality: number of dead people. Life expectancy: is the average number of years that people are expected to live. What is life expectancy? How has life expectancy in Spain changed since 1900? Where are immigrants from?
Changes in Spain´s population are due to: Decrease in birth rate. Increase in life expectancy. Immigrants come from South America, Central America, North Africa, and other European Union countries. Many people come from Romania, Morocco, Ecuador, United Kingdom and Colombia. There are more men (53.2 %) than women in the immigrant population.
2. Distribution of Spain´s Population Uneven Distribution Spain´s population is unevenly distributed. This is because of physical factors like landforms and climate and differences in economic resources. The areas with greater population have more industries and services. The most popular areas are: Coastal areas: Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga and Alicante. The population density in these areas is very high. Madrid. The city of Madrid is the capital of the Autonomous Community of Madrid and the capital of Spain.
Spain´s population density is 91.2 inhabitants per km
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Why Spain´s population is unevenly distributed? 2.1 Rural Population. In Spain 21, 9% of the population is rural. This means they live in municipalities of fewer than 10.000 inhabitants. For example: La junta de los Rios, Jédula etc…. What percentage of Spaniards lives in rural areas? Answer: 2.2 Urban Population. In Spain, 78, 1 % of the population lives in urban municipalities of more than 10.000 inhabitants. For example: Jerez, Málaga, Sevilla etc… What percentage of Spaniards lives in urban areas? Answer:
3. Spain´s Labour Force. - Labour Force: A country´s labour force or active population includes all the people who are working or looking for work (unemployed). What is a country´s labour force? -Economic Sectors: the labour force works in three economic sectors; Primary sector: only 4% of Spain´s labour force work on this sector. Arable farming, livestock farming and fishing. Secondary sector: only 13,3% of the labour force work in industry and 13,1 in construction. Tertiary sector: or service sector. Currently, only 69.6 % of the labour force works in this sector. It includes tourism, commerce and public services. -Inactive Population: The inactive population is made up of people over 16 years old who cannot work or who are not paid to work. This group includes students, homemakers, retired people and some people with disabilities. Women in the labour force; in the last 30 years, many Spanish women have started to work outside the home. Women now work in all professions. However, there is still a big difference compared with the percentage of men who work.